After years of battling his addition, Shane* had almost come to accept that he was an alcoholic and that he was going to die an alcoholic. That was until he enrolled in the drug and alcohol rehab , Narconon Louisiana. “My life was consumed with drinking.

“It’s hard to describe but if I was going to sum up what it was like to be addicted to heroin , I would say it’s like waking up every morning and only being able to think about one thing.“ Getting heroin was all consuming. It was like being afraid for my life if I didn’t get my hands on it.

“When I started using Ecstasy (also known as Molly), it was a drug I used only occasionally when going out to parties, concerts or the bar. It would usually take 45 minutes before I would start to experience the effects.

My brother died in a gruesome car crash. My parents went through a nasty divorce and I almost died in a freak accident. These things were bad but not one of them even a fraction as painful as my addiction to pain pills . Pain pills took my dignity, happiness and even my own child from me.

Being addicted to crack is probably one of the most torturing things in the world. For me, it was a never-ending cycle of working to get money somehow and then smoking crack until there was no money left. I wound up putting aside everything for this one drug.

This isn’t just another anti-marijuana article or some sort of political statement about whether marijuana should be legalized/decriminalized . I was hesitant to write this blog because I figure many will not read it and some might even respond in anger.

We are mindful of not cursing in front of our toddlers but never hesitate to pour ourselves a glass of wine with them in the room. Studies show children with parents who are addicted are far more likely to follow in their parents’ footsteps.

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